The Barrens

The rolling desolate landscape, dotted with decaying ruins could become monotonous even when not worrying about betrayal and monsters. Though there were vast swaths of unmarked trail they could track through, that could potentially be more dangerous than dealing with humans. Atl least humans didn’t eat you when they killed you, mostly. It was here on a marked trail that Jack set his ambush. They had seen the dust cloud in the distance and knew they would have company. They could run for it, but that could lead them into a pincer if this group had good short range radio. They couldn’t be sure this group was antagonistic, but with the way the wind had blown so far, they would take no chances. They kept two bikes on the road, with Jack and Rook standing bait, the other bikes had been hidden behind a low dune that you could barely make out in the glare of the sun. Sug was under one of their tan tarps with his big gun ready, nothing but a small black spot where he hid. Cro and Xyla camped behind the dune with their bikes, they couldn't risk damage to their only source of transport into this godforsaken wasteland. Jack looked through the scope and saw the group heading their way. They were wearing the colors of Wind Reach. “Alright guys, it looks like a team from wind reach, stand down, but stay alert.” Jack and Rook stood waiting for the minutes it took for the ten man team to pull up to a stop in front of them. The two Chariots and four war horses kicked up smoke and dust and there was a tension in the air that Jack didn’t like. The passenger of one of the chariors got out, but the two gunners stayed in their raised cages. The passenger walked forward with the war horse riders dismounting and moving up to with him in V formation. As the man got closer Jack could see the bars on his soldier indicating a sergeant. The man stopped in front of Jack, looked over at his patch and saluted. “Commander storm if I’m not mistaken, I’ve heard stories about you sir” Jack saluted back, never taking his left hand from his Katar. “That’s affirmative sergeant, you guys out of Wind Reach? How's commander Slevin?” The sergeant seemed relaxed, but Jack couldn’t dismiss the tension in the air. “Retired sir, a year back. Where’s the rest of your team Commander?” Jack’s face turned stoic “Dead, an ambush a couple days back, I’m enroute to rally reinforcements in First” The sergeant stepped forward and stuck his hand out “I’m sorry to hear that sir, my condolences” Jack grasped his forearm as was expected, the sharp pain in his side told him why his senses had called a warning. Then all hell broke loose.

It took Sug a moment to realize shit had hit the fan. That moment when all is not what it seems, and that fraction of a second while your brain catches up. But the moment after the first gunner pulled his trigger realising an arrow at his team, he pulled his own trigger putting a 50. Cal sized whole through the man’s chest. The shot startled the men from Wind Reach, bullets rarely exchanged in combat, buying Rook time to dive to the side dodging arrows from the other gunner. Sug, knowing his position was revealed moved his massive bulk from under the tarp toward the first Chariot. He tried to keep the grimace from his face as he prepared himself to do what needed to be done.

Once the shot cried out, Cro charged toward the second Chariot, still unseen from behind. Which was good, considering the distance he had to cover. Xyla released an arrow over his shoulder but it clipped a bar on the chariot and only grazed the gunner. Fortunately his mounted gun only shot in a ninety degree arc, unfortunately, now they knew they had company. As the gunner shouted to the other two in the Chariot, a second arrow took him in the back of the neck. The passenger stepped out with his loaded crossbow, as the driver stepped out and pulled his axe from his back. Cro, smiled, he liked these odds.

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Jack’s specialized armor had stopped most of the sergeant's hidden blades. It had slid from his bracer in an attempt to stab into his liver. The man's smirk quickly turned into a frown as Jack's left katar crashed into his temple killing him instantly. He saw an arrow fly by as Rook dodged out of the way, then he heard the blast of gun firing. Taking the moment of shock on the four soldiers behind the Sergeant, Jack stepped forward, slashing at the closest one. The soldier's training took over and he managed to get his blade up in time to block. With a quick kick Jack pushed him into the soldier behind him and moved to deflect the blade coming in from the soldier to his right. His riposte toward the man with his other katar was blocked by the damn fourth soldier moving in. Now he was fighting both men as they kept moving up his flanks. These were soldiers, not street thugs, so they knew how to work together. They were keeping him on the defence as he waited for an opening, but he saw the other two rising. “Damn it Rook, hurry up” Jack yelled. He looked over the right soldier's shoulder and could see the soldier smirk, at the oldest trick in the book. Which is why he was so surprised when his head was crushed by a mace. In the moment of distraction for the other soldier, Jack’s katar slipped inside his guard punching into his chest. The two on the ground realizing the advantage of surprise had gone scrambled towards their bikes. Jack looked over and saw that Sug had nearly cut the driver in half of the chariot near him, and Cro and Xyla had taken care of the other one. “Stop, or die soldiers'' Jack shouted. One actually did stop, the other mounted his bike and as he went to start it, took an arrow in his side. Still alive he fell from his bike. Jack walked toward the last soldier with a heavy heart. He knew the betrayal ran deep, but he had hoped it hadn’t hit the other Reaches. “Down on your knees, hands behind your head.” The soldier complied, Jack could tell he was young and he looked scared. The soldier with the arrow in his side propped himself again his bike, the anger on his face was palpable. He spit on the ground and grunted out his curse. “Just kill us now traitor” Jack and his team shared a look, but he spoke to the man on his knees “Who ordered you to attack us?” The scared soldier look like he might not answer, but his sense got the better of him. “Captain told all of us to find you, we weren’t supposed to engage, but sent up signal flares” at that moment there was a burst of air and a thump as the soldier against the bike shot the hidden flare into the air and took an arrow in his chest for his trouble. Jack sighed, now they had a time limit. “How many of you are out here looking for us” “A whole squadron” the soldier muttered. “Why?” It was a simple question but he could see the confusion rather than anger in the young soldiers eyes. The killing of his last teammate had finally hardened him from the feat. “Because you're a traitor and everyone knows. Word came from the first reach that you turned, and there's a reward for your capture.” “Fuck commander, we gotta move”. Jack looked up and saw more dust in the distance. “Grab the back up feed and put it on our horses, disable theirs. “Ya, run away traitor and a coward. You certainly are not the hero everyone thought you were.” Jack looked at the soldier sadly, then struck him in the temple knocking him unconscious. “We never are,” Jack whispered. Lets move. The fact that these soldiers were just doing their duty, and not traitors to the crown, bothered him more than he cared to admit. But he bottled it up, and pushed it aside, he also had a duty, and it was clear someone else wanted to stop him.